"Well, it signifies that this unfortunate, Donacha MacKim, the gudeman of Bourick, has been slain by the Douglases, for having been in arms against them at Raeberry; so Pompherston took a twig from his helmet and placed it where you see--in that bloody lance-wound. And now, sir, for our Blessed Lady's sake, aid me to convey him to Tracquair, that he may have the rites of a Christian burial." "Under favour, good father, that I cannot do, as I ride for life and death on the king's service," replied Gray, in a tone of regret. "A perilous errand here, while the Douglases are all abroad," replied the monk, shaking his shaven head. "In arms?" said Gray, starting. "No--hunting, and they have ridden over all the countryside, from the Bush aboon Tracquair to the Carlinwark at Thrave." The setting of the sun found Gray beyond the waters of Urr, which he crossed near that mysterious mound known as the Moat of Urr, and on his left saw the Dub o' Hass, where many a foreign galliot and Scottish caravel were at anchor, and the banks of which were then and for long after, according to local tradition, the haunt of the Mermaid of Galloway, whose wondrous beauty was such that no man could behold her without a love that became madness, and whose hair was like shining gold, through the links of which her white shoulders and bosom shone, as she floated on the crystal water, inspiring men with passion that ended in death. Her comb was o' the whitely pearl, Her hand like new-won milk; Her breasts were like the snowy curd In a net o' seagreen silk. But, thinking more of armed men than of alluring mermaids, Gray rode to where stood a little hostelry, kept apparently by a vassal of the kirk, as the signboard bore the papal crown and cross-keys; so he tarried there to refresh himself and horse again. He was received with profound respect, but with a curiosity the suppression of which seemed difficult, as the royal blazon which he wore upon his surcoat was seldom seen on _that_ side of the Nith, though the hostelry was established as a halting-place for the wealthy abbots of Tongland, Newabbey, and the priors of St. Mary and Lincluden, when passing that way with their retinues. The edifice was simply a large thatched cottage, divided in two by a partition named the _hallan_; beyond it was the principal fireplace, the lintel of which projected far over the hearth, and was wide enough to show the row of hams hung there to be smoked, and the iron bar whereon the kail-pot swung. Within this apartment--for the fireplace was really one--lay a whinstone seat, called the _cat-hud_, and a stone bench, the place of honour for strangers, and thereon Sir Patrick seated himself, by the gudeman's request.